throe

noun

ˈthrō 

1

: pang, spasm

death throes

throes of childbirth

2

throes plural : a hard or painful struggle

the throes of revolutionary social change

—M. D. Geismar

Synonyms

• ache
• pain
• pang
• prick
• shoot
• smart
• sting
• stitch
• tingle
• twinge

Examples of throe in a Sentence

collapsed in the throes of agony

that third-world country is caught up in the throes of a democratic revolution

Recent Examples on the Web

A little more than five years ago, audiences at St. Ann’s Warehouse eyed each other across a long, sparse playing space, its neutral brown evoking the rolling plains and dusty mainstreets of an America in the final throes of westward expansion. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 June 2024

In Smile 2, now in theaters, Naomi Scott delivers a star-making performance as Skye Riley, a global pop sensation about to embark on a new world tour who finds herself in the hellish throes of both these phenomena over the course of one unending nightmare of a week. —Megan McCluskey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024

Arrogantly rueful, Hartnett’s vicious killer has a flair for the dramatic, revealing, in the film’s final throes, to lead a semi-charmed kinda life. —Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 4 Sep. 2024

The fact that neither Hezbollah nor the Lebanese authorities have called this a war is little consolation for those in throes of bombardment and mass displacement. —Christian Edwards, CNN, 25 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English thrawe, throwe, from Old English thrawu, thrēa threat, pang; akin to Old High German drawa threat

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

throe

noun

ˈthrō 

1

: pang

death throes

throes of childbirth

2

plural : a hard or painful struggle

a state in the throes of revolution

Medical Definition

throe

noun

ˈthrō 

: pang, spasm

—usually used in plural

death throes

throes of childbirth